1. Technical Field
The inventive field relates to the field of information interchange between two or more users of computing and/or telecommunications devices. More specifically, at least one embodiment of the present invention relates to the inventive field of electronic communications, one type of such communications being commonly referred to as e-mail communications, and to apparatuses and/or processes for categorizing, identifying, communicating, routing, prioritizing, and/or discouraging unwanted communications.
2. Background Art
Commonly today, users of computing and/or telecommunications devices often receive untold numbers of communications from various persons, entities and/or automated systems. Many of such communications are unwanted and are often considered undesirable by recipients and others for various reasons. In addition, users of commercially provided, corporate provided and/or individually provided electronic mail (“e-mail”) accounts receive dozens, or even hundreds, of unwanted e-mail communications daily. Regardless of whether an e-mail account is provided by Microsoft (e.g. via their MSN and/or HOTMAIL services), Yahoo (e.g. via its web-based e-mail services), or via various corporate e-mail services and/or applications (for example, via a Microsoft Exchange Server connected to a desktop and/or other computing device on which an e-mail application, such as Microsoft OUTLOOK, and/or other desktop applications may be running), e-mail communication users (and user of other forms of communications) are subjected daily to numerous unwanted e-mails/communications. These unwanted e-mails/communications are often commercial solicitations in which the recipient has little if any interest, and are commonly referred to as “spam,” “mass e-mails,” or the like. Today, spam makes up a significant percentage of all e-mail traffic. The amount of spam e-mail users receive today has led many users to simply stop using e-mail as a communications medium.
Similarly, users and facilitators of instant messaging services (“IM”), short messaging services or protocols (“SMS/SMP”), voice mails, voice communications and telemarketing calls, faxes and other forms of printed communications, video communications (for example, those some day available over digital television mediums such as high definition television and/or digital cable/satellite systems), graphical communications (e.g., pop-up advertisements) and other communication mediums are also often inundated with unwanted communications. The continual inundation of recipients with unwanted communications have led to the widespread adoption of various systems and devices, such as caller identification systems, e-mail filters, no-call lists and others, which are utilized to minimize, reduce and/or prevent such intrusions. Thus, the very aspects of e-mails other forms of electronic communications which make such mediums appealing are quickly becoming nuisances.
For many forms of communications, simple technical or regulatory solutions to minimizing such nuisances may not be readily available. For example, with regards to e-mail and in particular spam, one of the essential characteristics of spam, which makes it so widespread and pervasive, derives from the very nature of the communications medium it is utilizing. As anyone who has ever “surfed” the Internet or sent an e-mail commonly appreciates, the costs in equipment and services needed to send an e-mail are quite minimal.
Further, minimal system resources and a valid electronic address are commonly all that is needed to effectively communicate spam to a recipient. A spammer (that is, one who sends or distributes spam) generally need not sort the spam by geographical region, zip codes, area codes or otherwise. Instead, the Internet itself provides the routing and “sorting” necessary to communicate e-mails/communications to multiple recipients, wherever they may be in the world. Additionally, since many recipients prefer to use e-mail/communication addresses that are easy for others (such as their business contacts and friends) to remember, often e-mail/communication addresses are quite predictable and, hence, valid electronic addresses are easily obtainable.
Thus, it is to be appreciated that there is a tremendous need for systems and processes which ease the burden upon Internet service providers (“ISPs”), recipients, and others in identifying, controlling, disseminating and/or receiving communications in general and e-mail communications and/or other types of electronic communications and spam in particular.